Union Connector - 5/16 Inch to 5/16 Inch

First of all, the larger white plastic tubes in this thing are 5/16" OD, which no plumbing store seems to stock. At the lower left rear end there are 2 tubes, one for water and one for ice, that are doomed to fail being in proximity of a heat source - they essentially get cooked to the point of becoming brittle and cracking. The smaller tube and union can be easily found, but do yourself a favor if the larger one cracks and order the plastic tube and water tube union here, and just cut off the brittle part and amend the old tube using the union.

Plastic lines to ice maker and water dispenser cracked from heat. Replaced Icemaker line by removeing 2 screws holding Icemaker then two more holding icemaker mount, Pulled large plastic tube that water runs down. From back of unit removed grommet that goes thru refrigerator back, then bent open clamp and pulled out 1/4 " line. Reversed process to install.
After doing this I believe it could all be done from the back with out removing the icemaker. Just pry open the clamp on the grommet and pull the 1/4" icemaker line out of the grommet.

The water supply tube was a a little challenge. The 5/16 tube comes thru at the bottom of the fridge under the meat bin. Remove the meat bin and the next bin up to gain access. I cut the tube off with a side cutters about 1/2 of the way between the floor of the fridge and the water tank. Then I took the new line and attached the old line to the new line with a bolt of the correct od with the head cut off so I could tie the two lines together. Then I pulled the old line out from the back of the fridge while pushing the new line in. Attached the line from the tank to the new line with the Water tube union then cut the line off in the back and installed a new Dual inlet valve and the icemaker, drinking water line and supply line to it. Let it sit over night making ice and made sure no leaks before pushing back.

Had previously replace the plastic Water Tank, but when installing it I didn't realize how the quick connects worked. Instead of simply pushing inward in the direction of the blue part of the disconnect, I had pulled out the white ring on the outside of the disconnects. This ruined the inside connections and caused them to leak thus requiring these repairs. Had I known that I wouldnt have bought these parts too. Just Always REMEMBER to push in outside white ring on the quick disconnect and as you push it in pull out the hose when you remove it. To put the hose back in, just push it back in without pushing on ring this time at all and it will lock in place, and shouldn't be leaking. I had to run water into a glass to test if it was leaking, otherwise the line had no water pressure.

Ordered parts from another vendor - got wrong parts (1/4 in parts instead of 5/16 in parts). With your parts, I just cut out the bad portion of the tubing, and replaced it using the 2 union connectors. Thanks.

This problem had already occurred in 2008. Repairman replaced dual water valve. Cost $190.00. We decided to do it ourselves this time. The repairs were actually made in three phases. First, when I pulled the fridge out from the wall, unplugged it, and turned the water valve back on I discovered that the plastic tubing from water supply into the fridge had long cracks in it and water was spraying out everywhere. I turned water off, went to Lowe's and bought the kit for that repair. Of course I didn't have to use all of the parts in the kit because the water supply was already there from the valve that came up through the floor. After turning the water back on and plugging the fridge back in, my husband and I tested it by trying the water dispenser. We found that water was leaking from somewhere inside the fridge, but didn't know where. After UNPLUGGING it, and turning the water off again, I took the metal back off at the bottom. It was leaking from the bigger plastic tubing (5/16"). It was just hanging, not connected into the dual water valve. Figured it had just broken. So I thought I just needed 5/16" tubing. I went on the GE website and it was very hard to get answers to my problem because I couldn't find the plastic tubing that it looked like. I ended up ordering the plastic tubing that goes up that back of the fridge to the icemaker. They sent me two of those, not one for the freezer and the bigger clear one (5/16") that I thought I needed. Then, I found this website! This PartSelect website is great!! After reading about other consumer repairs, I knew how to disconnect the dual water valve and found out that the smaller plastic tubing that goes up the back of the fridge to the icemaker had been pinched where it connects to the dual water value, barley hanging on. Just quick disconnected it from the valve by pushing up on the outside where the tubing comes out while pulling on the tubing. It came out, and I had to use needle nose pliers to pull some of it out where it had broken off inside. Then, pushed the new tubing into the valve and ran it up the back of the fridge, unscrewed the plate that goes over the clamp that holds the tubing, loosened the clamp a little, pulled the old tubing out, pushed the new tubing in, (the clamp was still tight enough) put the metal plate back on and replaced the screws. Then I re-connected the dual water valve to the electric clips, connected the 5/16" tubing to the right side of the valve. (The black tubing that goes up the back of the fridge goes into the left side of the valve.) put it back into place and screwed it back against the body of the fridge where it goes, put the back on and plugged it back in. We tested it again, and water was leaking, but not from where I made my first repair. I reversed everything again, and discovered that where the 5/16" tubing goes into the dual water value, it seemed more loose than it should have been. That is where the water was leaking from! I ordered the dual water valve, the 5/16" plastic tubing and the water tube union. I replaced the dual water valve-very easy! MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG THE FRIDGE, turn the water supply off, disconnect the small tubing from the dual water valve, disconnect the electric connections to the valve, and reverse the process. What I did was replace the 5/16" tubing the comes out of valve & goes up into the storage tank behind crisper drawer. Used union there. Put everything back together and it works!!

bought an push in, in line connector and a new 5/16 plastic hose. I just replaces 2 feet of plastic hose from the selonid up an splices the hose using the connector. Worked perfect.

Disregard previous.
1. Turn off water supply.
2. Unplug power cord.
3. Remove bottom Panel to access the Solenoid valve.
4. Remove the water lines from the Valve.
5. Remove the Valve from the refrigerator.
6. Remove the electrical connectors from the valve.
(make sure the new valve has the connector adaptors included) you will need them during installation.
7.Bend the new valve bracket inward about 45 degrees to clear the compressor coolant line.
8.Use a pair of pliers to braek away the plastic on the new valve for clearance.
9.If needed remove the compression fitings from the old water line installation as the new valve comes with the push and lock feature.
10.Install the bottom 2 water lines they are different sizes
11.Mount the new valve to refrigerator and tighten.
12.Install the ice maker water line to the top fitting on the valve.
13.Plug the power cord in & turn on the water supply,check for leaks and proper operation on the valve.

Super simple... removed pnl in back connected the splice, added the new house, replaced the clip in the Ice Maker Tray....

Remove lower front panel, disconnect damaged union from water hose under freezer door, replace with new union, tighten and reattach front panel. No more water coming from under the unit. Ice maker and dispenser features returned to working order!

We couldn't get the other connector loose from one end of the tubing so he said just cut it and so we did and attached the connector. I now have water again in my fridge and took the sticky note down "don't use the water" as it had leaked for a year...... Thanks!